Still feeling quite unwell. Stayed home yesterday. Today I managed to come to the library but am really exhausted. I tried working on Ch.5 but I just cannot follow things, which is quite discouraging.

2 options: - go home and rest til i feel better. this one makes me feel bad for not working; or do referencing at least for an hour or so.

I think I will take the latter and see how far we go today and try my luck again tomorrow.

======= Date Modified 07 Sep 2010 11:02:03 =======
feeling really ill today. yesterday i managed to do three quarters of chapter 5. just have about 10 pages to go. how do people cope with illness and writing-up? my only encouragement is Bilbo - she stuck it out and saw the other side. so i just try and do some work when am not feeling too bad. at the moment am preparing to start work at 1pm and do my usual six hours. i feel like am down with flu so i've taken pain killers and hoping to feel better in a bit.

am tempted to work from home given the weather (rain and all) - but am not sure that is going to be any good. previous experience tells me that am never able to work from home lately. working from a library is a lot more positive - the noise aside. at least am mostly proofreading and formatting at this point. staying at home might mean sleeping all day and feeling sorry for myself. could try working in another room but my mind just resists the whole idea. will see.

Chapter 4 is done! Yipee! 20 mins break then start on Ch. 5. :-)

what's left:
-----------------
* tighten definitions & put footnote on STO lit.
* finish proofreading ch.4
*proofread ch.5 & address final supervisors correction (the one addressed in part)
*proofread ch. 6 & 7 - incorporating final supervisors correction
*referencing - go through footnotes filling in incomplete ones.
*acronyms page, shorten references and perfect bibliograpy - commas and that.
*check that lists are complete.
*go thro to do lists and do anything else that needs to be done.
*check and correct final wordcount.

----------------

Today and tomorrow- am aiming to achieve this :

* finish proofreading ch.4
*proofread ch.5 & address final supervisors correction (the one addressed in part)
*proofread ch. 6 & 7 - incorporating final supervisors correction

Hi all..... am back again. Sunday didn't go according to plan. I spent the day in hospital suffering from exhaustion- they said my blood pressure was high. That really got me thinking - is it worth losing your health trying to get a PhD?

I'm back now... I've decided to get on with it and notified my supervisor. So I've got a few more days to take things at a healthier pace Yipee! But I can't keep pushing this. I'm aiming to be done with everything on Wednesday and allow two days for unforeseen events. I hope I can make this deadline without breaking because there isn't much left and stop putting my health at risk!

@sim - TBH... i wish i could. but my supervisor would know I think very little of them! :-(.

======= Date Modified 06 Sep 2010 14:38:08 =======
today has been a tiring day; i've managed to almost complete proofreading and formatting ch.4. The good thing about the thesis from this point is that its just formatting remaining, there are no major corrections (just amplifying my contribution!). i hope i can be done tonight - i have 80 pages to go! i didn't manage to do definitions yesterday when i went home.. i just switched off. those have been postponed to tomorrow as I don't expect incomplete footnotes to be that many. but tonight i must really get on with it if am to make a Monday hand in.. sigh.

Lesson: I'm finding the formatting really boring and wondering if am being a perfectionist; but so far am happy with how it looks. At least it looks like I put some thought into presentation. The most shocking thing so far has been how much the thesis has changed! if someone told me I'd have changed a word apart from corrections I'd have thought them mad. But here we go! General feeling - happy. Hoping my supervisor is not running out of patience waiting for my thesis at this point.

J.

HAHA Sim 8-). Copying from one source is plagiarism; copying from more than one source is research.

@newscctv - please PM me and let me know what i advertised?

have managed to complete all 3 questions! yipee!!! smiling my way home. will be doing definitions later. :-)

@sim - i like that. i'll blend yours and bilbos.

keep them coming. your comments might just remind me of what my supervisor has actually done for me that i should thank them for.

======= Date Modified 03 Sep 2010 19:22:32 =======
@ TT - i understand. am not acknowledging old supervisors who messed me up. i had to start from scratch!

bilbo - thanks. mine neglected me in tough times and i can't remember being supported. on the few times we had meetings i can say they asked insightful questions, and offered invaluable advice.

I need miraculous productivity today - didn't finish the 3 questions! the plan is:

Leave for library now.

1.30 - 5pm: -finish question 2. Involves listening to two lectures and going through notes and ch. 3 and 4.

6pm - 7pm: - finish question 3 & 4 - these ones are much smaller.

come home and have dinner

9pm - 12am - tighten definitions & STO lit.


Saturday:

1pm -4pm:-proofread ch.4

5pm -8pm:-proofread ch.5 & address final supervisors correction (the one addressed in part)

come home.. have dinner

10pm - late:- proofread ch. 6 & 7 - incorporating final supervisors correction


Sunday: - concentrate on referencing - go through footnotes filling in incomplete ones.


1pm - 2pm : Chapter 1

2pm - 3pm: Ch.2

3pm - 4pm: Ch.3

break

5pm-6pm: Ch.4

6pm -7pm: Ch. 5

7pm- 8pm: Ch. 6 & 7, check page breaks.

come home.. snack. take a nap.

Monday: 1am - 6am : -Do Acronyms page, shorten references and perfect bibliograpy - commas and that.

7am -10am - check that lists are complete.

11am -2pm: go thro to do lists and do anything else that needs to be done.

2pm - hand in final thesis for supervisor approval. don't forget to check and correct final wordcount.

2.15pm - SLEEP... and wake up with my life back! woohoo!

and so help me God.:$

J.

I haven't read everyone else's replies but I would say:

Keep going - take one day at a time - break project into tasks - do one at a time and focus only on it at the time - enjoy student life! (apart from the financial part of it, its really great) - and you will find that actually 3 years is a VERY short time..